Ren Brennan
by ponymaster35
Summary: A new take on Bones during season 6. Who is Ren Brennan? A maternal Brennan, and her two kids. OOC and AU a bit. Hope you enjoy! Some bad language, but only once in a while.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, Bones is all Hart and Fox.**

**So this story is set in season 6, where Booth is with Hannah and going strong, and Hodgin's and Angela are together. But, I made Parker around three years old. Rebecca (Parker's mother) and Temperance are friends, which Booth does not know. And after a falling out, Booth and Brennan are not really friends. This is after Brennan confesses her feelings to Booth and he rejects her. I kind of dramatized it a little though. Temperance's nicknames will be Bones, Bren, Dr. B, and Ren.**

**To my older readers: Thank you for keeping up with the story, even after my SUPER long hiatus. I did some small editing and took some stuff out and added some things in. Hope you guys like it!**

" Hey Ren, can you pick up Parker tonight and keep him for the weekend? I've got a date with Brent, and I think we're going to be held up this weekend." Rebecca asked, giggling into the phone.

"Yeah, no problem, I'll pick him up from the Jeffersonian daycare and leave early from work. If anyone asks, I'm feeling a little sick. Have fun with Captain Fantastic!" Replied Temperance.

" Thanks Ren, you're the best!"

Once Rebecca hung up the phone from her conversation with Ren, another call came through, one that made her groan.

" Hey Becks! I'm taking off early today, can I see Parker? I haven't seen him in ages!"

"Are you kidding? You call now? What, you just forgot about your son when you started to date the blonde bimbo? And No, you can't see him today. I have a date with Brent for the weekend, and my best friend Ren is going to take him for the weekend." Rebecca retorted.

"That's not fair and you know it, I'm his father! And who's this Ren? She doesn't have a right to see him. I'm his father!"

" A father? Where was this so called father the last two weeks. The one that never called because he was too busy shacking up with the Blonde Banshee? Ren has more of a right than you!"

"For God's Sake! Is this mysterious Ren even real Becca? Or is she just another excuse for me not to see my son? For the past few months, all you do is talk about Ren. How perfect Ren is. Even when I see Parker, all he talks about is her. She's freaking brainwashed you two!"

" SHUT UP! YOU DON'T GET A RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT! SHE'S BEEN THERE FOR ME AND PARKER, WHEN YOU HAVEN'T! AND AFTER EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE, I CAN'T TRUST YOU WITH PARKER!"

" AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE, WHAT HAVE I FREAKING DONE?"

" TEMPERANCE! DON'T YOU REMEMBER HER! FREAKING TEMPERANCE, SEELY! YOU BROKE HER HEART! AND ALL FOR THAT SAD EXCUSE OF A GIRLFRIEND! WHO THE HELL IS HANNAH! WHEN PARKER MET HER, HE CAME HOME CRYING, SAYING THAT HE HATED HER!"

"This is all about Temperance? You barely know her. And for your information, she is acting like a freaking child! Always ignoring me, and only calling me Agent Booth. You know what, WHAT THE HELL. If she wants to act like an ice queen, I could care less. And why should you care? You never held an interest in my love life before Temperance, and now you're meddling in it, now that I'm with Hannah. What the hell is your problem?"

" My problem is that you broke my best friend's heart" Rebecca replied in a whisper that was inaudible to Booth.

" What did you say?"

" You know what? This is a waste of time. If you don't know what you're doing wrong, let me spell it out for you. Parker needs to be around good role models, and the way you've treated your loved ones recently, is anything but. So no. You can't see Parker. And you know what else, Ren can see Parker as much as she wants. She's my best friend. And she loves Parker, and Parker loves her. She's even his legal guardian, and he calls her mom now too. So know this Seeley. That if anything happens to me, you won't even get Parker then, unless you start acting like the Seeley Booth that we know and love, you can't see him again."

"WHAT THE HELL DID I DO?"

" Goodbye Seeley" Rebecca replied with a soft sigh.

"FUCK!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Lab, Dr. Temperance Brennan walked up to the platform. There around the examination table stood, Cam, Angela, Hodgins, Wendell, and a very uncomfortable looking Sweets.

" Dr. Saroyan, I'm not feeling very well so I think I will leave the lab now. I also do not plan to come in this weekend, so if you need my expertise, please call."

With a shocked look on her face, Cam nodded her assent. Dr. Brennan usually never fell ill, and if so, never admitted it outright. But maybe it was for the best. She had heard about what happened between Dr. Brennan and Booth, and could not imagine the sort of pain she was is. She had secretly been rooting for Booth and Brennan, even putting in some money for the betting pool. But after the fallout between the two, Dr. Brennan had not fared well. She had become so sad, to the point of depression, and had receded into her old shell of antisocial actions and cold demeanor. Her eyes had dulled in color, her skin become pale, and her hair had grown out, left untended. Along with the dramatic weight loss of what looked to be around ten to fifteen pounds, pounds that she could not spare. The good doctor was wasting away.

" Sweetie are you okay? Do you want me to go with you?" Angela asked in a worried tone.

" No, it's okay Ange. I think I'm just going to stay at home this weekend and just think." Brennan replied, to the shock of those around her. Before Sweets could reply, Angela gave him a pointed look and replied.

" Alright Bren, but if you change your mind, all of are going out to dinner tonight. So if you want to come, give me a call."

" Okay Ange, I will. Thank you." Brennan replied tiredly.

And with that. Brennan retired to her office to gather her things. As she placed her book bag on her shoulder, Booth walked into the lab.

"Hey Bones! Got any news on the case yet?

" I am sorry Agent Booth, but we have nothing yet. And I wouldn't know from now on. I am not going to be at work for the rest of the day or this weekend."

"Oh, the great Dr. Temperance Brennan is taking a day off from work?" Booth said mockingly.

" I'm just feeling a little, how do you say it? Under the weather, is it?"

" Maybe your cold demeanor has finally sunk in." Booth muttered.

With a shocked look and unshed tears in her eyes, Temperance quickly muttered an excuse and ran out of the lab.

" Really? That wasn't necessary man. What the hell are you thinking, talking to her like that?" Hodgins asked angrily.

As Booth just glared at Hodgins for his outburst, Cam intervened.

" Seeley, why don't you leave. I think it would be better this way, just go. And don't Camille me, this isn't funny anymore. If you can't respect my team, then find other people to help you solve these murders." Cam reprimanded.

* * *

In the parking lot, as Temperance quietly sobbed in the driver's seat she started to wipe away her tears. Clearing her throat, she wiped her hace off with a napkin, and threw her book bag in the trunk. As she set up the car seat in the back of her car, she grabbed her purse and walked back up to the Jeffersonian. But instead of turning right at the corridor to the Lab, she turned left, to the Daycare center. She walked up to the front desk and approached the clerk, a young woman named Lila.

"Hi Lila, I'm here to pick up Parker."

"Of course Dr. Brennan. He's been running around all day. He's tuckered out. Parker just went into the napping room, I don't think he's fallen asleep yet."

As the two walked into the room, Parker's eyes opened and met Brennan's. He immediately closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"Look at that! My little prince is sleeping. My baby boy is sleeping, and here I was, planning to go to Wong Fu's for dinner with him. Oh well. I guess we'll just go home then." Temperance teased.

" NO MAMA! I hungry. I no sleep. I's awake, I's am." Parker replied defiantly, despite the drowsy demeanor that he carried.

"Okay than, let's go." Temperance replied as she picked him up. Once in her arms, Parker snuffled and burrowed his head into the crook of her neck. " Okay, you can sleep until we get to the restaurant baby."

Watching this scene between mother and son, Lila smiled to herself. She had come to know Temperance Brennan for the past few months as she picked Parker up from daycare frequently. Temperance was not this cruel, cold-hearted person, as most people knew. To Parker, she was a wonderfully loving mother.

* * *

**"**Hey! It's the Bone lady, an baby squint!" Sid cheered. " How you doing Ren? Booth still ignoring you?" he inquired with a slightly angry look on his face. Sid was one of the few people that knew about her relationship with Parker and Rebecca, as well as what happened with Booth. And to say he was disappointed in the FBI agent, was an understatement. " One large bowl of Spaghetti for the lady and baby." Sid said, sliding the bowl towards them, as Parker barely budged. " You might want to feed the little one yourself Ren, it looks like he's gonna eat it animal style." Before Temperance could ask him what he meant by that, Parker's head slowly drifted closer and closer into the bowl, until she pulled his back with a grin on her face.

"Thanks Sid. Okay baby, let's eat quickly, and then we can go home, take a quick bath and go to bed, okay?"

"I no baby Mama. I big boy. I eat. Mama eat." Parker protested. As he slowly grabbed the fork and tried to maneuver the fork into his mouth with his eyes half-closed.

" I know baby, but this way, it'll be faster, then we can go to sleep." Parker finally nodded in agreement, and started to eat what Temperance fed him.

"Mama eat too. Mama eat wif Pawka. Mama too pointy, Mama eat wif Pawka!" Parker said, urging her to eat. Jeez, even her son noticed her weight loss, but to her she felt nothing. Before she could give him the old excuse of a lack of hunger, or a sad smile, Sid interrupted her.

"Hey, it's the Squint Squad!" Sid greeted, slightly apprehensive, as the group of Angela, Hodgins, Cam, Wendell, Daisy and Sweets slid into the booth directly adjacent to Brennan's. Fortunately, Brennan was sitting with her back towards the group. " Ren, if you want, I can somehow distract him and you go out through the kitchen exit."

"That's alright Sid, they were bound to find out eventually. If anything, it's better this way. If they notice me, I'll tell them, if they don't than I guess I'm lucky."

"Alright. But Ren. Please, eat some food. Even Parker knows you're sad about something, and that's why you're not eating. Every time he comes here with Rebecca, he always asks me why you're sad and so pointy now. Even if you're not hungry, just eat some so you can show Parker. You really are turning into a bone lady now."

As Temperance thought about what Sid had said, Parker tugged on her sleeve, bringing to her attention, the lack of food in his mouth. She gave him some, and then put some food in her mouth to the surprise and joy of her son. He started to clap, and urged her to eat more. But at the fourth forkful, she started to feel nauseous and stopped. Brennan went back to feeding Parker, and kept muttering sweet nothings into his ear, making him feel happy.

Behind her, at the Squint Squad booth, Daisy and Angela started to whisper to each other about the woman in the booth next to them. About how cute she and her son was.

" Jack, look at them, they're so cute" Angela said, nodding to the booth next to them. " I can't wait till this little one comes." She sighed in excitement as she placed her hands on her now five months pregnant belly.

"I must agree, whoever that woman is, she appears to be quite a dutiful mother. She clearly adores her child, comforting the child and feeding him in his drowsy state, instead of reprimanding him and demoting his self-esteem. From a psychological stand-"

" Okay, we get it Sweets. Supportive mom, cute kid, great family." Cam said with a playful smile, cutting off Sweets from his speech.

" Actually, that woman seems very similar. Her voice, and her build and hair color, is actually very similar to those of Dr. Brennan." Wendell pointed out.

"That's not possible, Dr. B doesn't have any kids. And she said she would be at home because she was sick." Hodgins said.

" Well there's only one way to solve this. Sweetie! Bren!" Angela said, tapping the woman in the booth next to them on the shoulder. Temperance sucked in a breath and slowly turned around to face her friends/colleagues. As they looked at her with confused and surprised looks, the Squints finally found their voices once again.

" Dr. Brennan, why are you at Wong Fu's, I thought you were sick? And why do you have Booth's son in your lap?" Cam asked, determined to get to bottom of this.

" And especially why Parker Dr. Brennan? We were all under the impression that you and Booth were not on good terms." Daisy inquired. Before Temperance could answer, a small tug brought her to Parker's face.

" Maw food Mama?" Parker asked, smiling up at her. All around the booth, gasps were heard, while Angela kept muttering that she thought Brennan did not want children.

" Alright guys, sorry to cut in. But I think you guys need to talk, so Re- Dr. Brennan, why don't you move to their booth and finish feeding Parker. This is going to take a while." Sid cut in, handing the Squint Squad their food, and Brennan a cup of coffee. The table stayed relatively quiet as Brennan finished feeding Parker, refusing the mouthfuls that Parker kept offering her. Once she gave him a drink of her milk, and wiped his face, Brennan turned Parker around in her lap. Now he was face to face with her. She could see the look of fear in his eyes, due to the amount of people around him. Parker was a relatively shy, and nervous child, and was very attached to his mother, more so than other children. As he cuddled his way into her, he wrapped his short arms and legs around her torso, and nuzzled his head into her chest, ear to ear with her chest. The rhythmic motion of her beating and sound of her heart beat, lulled Parker to sleep. As Temperance stroked his hair and face, Parker took her larger hand in his two small hands, and placed it on his cheek. The feeling of his mother's hand was enough comfort to put the small child at ease in a public place.

" Please sweetie. We aren't going to tell Booth anything, we just want to understand what's happening. I feel like this is the first time in a few months that I've actually talked to you. Please Bren." Implored Angela. Brennan opened her mouth to talk, but was quickly interrupted by a phone call from Rebecca.

" Hey Becca, no he's sleeping. We're at Wong Fu's. My friends and colleagues from the Jeffersonian are here too, yeah they caught me blue-handed. Are you sure it's red? Oh, ok. I'm going to tell them everything now. Yeah, have fun with Captain Fantastic; don't do anything I wouldn't do. Do you want to talk to Parker? Oh, ok yeah no it's fine. We'll call you tomorrow." Brennan said, with a grin on her face. Looking at Angela, she instantly felt bad. Spending time with Parker had helped her become more emotionally aware, and identify facial expressions with more ease. And at this moment, one of her best friends was feeling sad. " Ange, please don't look like that. You and Becca are my best friends. And it's not that I forgot about you, but Becca was able to help me in an area where you really couldn't. I still think of you as one of my closest friends, and nothing will change that. If anything I'll need you more than ever, once Becca leaves." Looking around at the others, she continues, " Let me explain."

Brennan explained to the others of how she and Rebecca had become good friends over her heartbreak with Booth, how Parker had been identifying her as his mother for the past few months, about her receiving custody of Parker, and her future.

"You're having a baby!" Angela shrieked

"No, I have no desire to become pregnant at this moment. But I do have a desire to continue my life as a mother, and by adopting Parker, I have realized this. Do you remember our last case? It was the one with the married couple who were decapitated by the psychopath babysitter. Well the child of those two, Katie was left all alone. She's only three; she's around the same age as Parker. And she's so small too, and I couldn't leave her alone, so I did some pinching around."

" It's poking around Dr. Brennan. And yes, I remember. Katie was so taken with you, never leaving your side. Until Seeley called Child Protective Service and had her taken away before the investigation finished." Cam continued.

" That's correct. And she has no family left, or no family that is willing to take care of her that is. She's been put in a group home. I have been visiting her almost everyday, and I have been signed off as her foster parent. And if all goes according to plan, I will adopt her in the following months to come." Temperance said, with a small smile on her face. As the people and the table commended her for her efforts and congratulated her, Sweets interjected.

" , how does Parker feel about this? He is obviously quite attached to you. Dr. Brennan, is he… what is Parker….?" And with that, everyone at the table turned their attention to Parker. He had in his sleep, ever so slowly, brought his mother's hand closer to his face. And with that had placed her thumb into his mouth, sucking on it.

" Oh, I don't really know. Ever since Booth stopped most contact with him, and Rebecca told him of her near departure a couple weeks ago, he started to do this. It's been going on for three to four weeks, and he always does this. He always takes my thumb and sucks on it, like a pacifier. And to answer your question Dr. Sweets, Parker is actually quite excited to meet his sister. I've brought him to the group home with me many times to meet her and such, and they have become quite close to each other. I have explained to them, that once Katie arrives, that they will be siblings. They are both three years old, and their birthdays are actually only one week apart. And the fact that they look quite alike, and have very similar bone structure to myself is a happy coincidence. Parker has been telling Rebecca that his twin sister will be coming to live with us soon. But I am a little worried about my capabilities. Both Parker and Katie are quite intellectually inclined, but by social and emotional means, they are both a little behind. Both of the children are extremely reliant on me, more so than other children. Some of the child psychologists I have talked to, have told me to ignore their baby-like behavior and try to spur on their independence. While others have told me to be more affectionate and feed into they're insecurities. And for now, I will just treat Parker, and Katie when she arrives, the way they act. I am just worried what others might think of my children. I do not want them to suffer like I did when I was growing up." Temperance finished, with tears in her eyes.

" Dr. Brennan, I know you do not believe in Phycology, but please, let me help. Would you mind if I meet you and Parker and Katie for just one, family therapy session? Maybe I could be of some assistance?" Sweets offered.

To his surprise, Temperance replied with a smile, " Thank you Sweets, I appreciate it."

" Wait, but I don't understand Dr. Brennan, why **do **you have custody of Parker?" Wendell asked.

" I actually don't have full custody of Parker yet. But I will soon. And on Sunday, I will have temporary custody of Katie as well." Temperance replied

" But, Dr. Brennan, why would you in any case?" Cam restated.

" Contrary to belief, Rebecca and Brent are not engaged. They eloped last weekend, and are already married. Unfortunately, Brent does not want children, already existing or soon to come. Frankly, they are more interested in each other and their activities together, than the wellbeing of Parker. Rebecca is losing interest in her son, as I am becoming more attached to him, and he to myself. So she listed me as his guardian for convenience. And Rebecca and Brent have received very prominent job offers in Los Angeles. They do not plan to take Parker, and so I will be taking care of him." Temperance explained.

"Sweetie, what does Booth think of this? And what about Parker, how does he feel about this? " Angela asked as she watched Brennan visibly cringe over his name.

" Parker took it surprisingly well. He has said that as long as I am here for him, he essentially does not care for his parents. But in truth he does care, but about something else. He does not care that his parents are going to be gone, but that they have left him. Parker feels as if he is being abandoned. I am the essentially one of the only people he will talk to or react to. After what happened with Booth and Hannah, he has been retrogressing emotionally, and I am the only one that her allows to take care of him."

" Dr. Brennan, what happened with Booth and Hannah?" Wendell asked, slightly angry over the behavior of his friend and Hockey teammate, Booth.

" A couple of weeks ago, Parker spent the weekend at Booths. That was the last time that Booth essentially spoke or talked to him. When Parker was there, apparently only spoke bout Ren, which is I. But Booth does not know that. Once he saw Rebecca they engaged in a very loud verbal fight. He told her that I (Ren) was brainwashing Rebecca and Parker. And that I was only her friend because she was a successful lawyer, and I wanted her money. Which makes no sense to me, because I am very well off financially. Once Rebecca 'let it slip' that I was Parker's guardian, he became enraged. He told Rebecca that he would take Parker away from Rebecca and myself, and rise with Hannah. Ever since then, Parker has been quite frightened over the prospect of talking or seeing his father, let along think about him. He has panic attacks and nightmares of his father taking me away from him, one time he had one where Booth was yelling at me, and I died leaving him with Booth." Brennan choked out, with tears filling her eyes.

" Dr. Brennan, how often does he have these panic attacks and nightmares?" Sweets questioned.

" He has nightmares twice or three times a week, and the panic attacks similarly, they all started after the argument with Agent Booth and Rebecca. When I went to his Pediatrician, she taught me some ways to calm him down, and lessen the stress. She told me that for now, I should try to keep Parker as close to myself as possible, that in stressful moments he refers to a baby-like way of thinking. That all he needs is food, sleep, and myself to keep him content."

" Hey Ren. We have a problem. Booth just called to pick up a takeout order, he's going to be here in less that 10 minutes. You might want to go now, hurry.

"Shit" Ren cursed under her breath. " Okay, thanks Sid." She replied, handing him the bill and placing the tip on the table. She stood up slowly as to not wake up Parker, as her friends also rose with her, to walk her out.

"Ren, here." Sid said while handing Wendell a large paper bag, filled to the brim with to go containers. Pointing to the bag he said, " There's enough food in there to last you and the two little ones for the weekend. Bring the new girl in once she's adjusted, I'd love to meet her. And for God's sake, eat some of the food Ren."

"Alright, thanks Sid." Ren replied nodding at his heart felt thinking.

" Hey Man! You got my food ready? Hannah and I are starved!" Booth exclaimed while walking into the restaurant, with a flushed face, and a loosened tie. Upon hearing his voice, Temperance turned her back to him, while the Squint Squad stepped closer to her, forming a small barrier between her and Parker, from Booth. As the Jeffersonian gang said quick hello's, Temperance all but ran out of the restaurant with Wendell close behind her while the group distracted her. But Booth could not miss the mop of curly bronze hair of his son.

"Hey Sid, was that… was that Parker? Who's that lady that carried him?" Booth questioned.

" Yeah, that was Ren and parker. They came in for dinner." Sid replied as he quickly eyed the Squint Squad.

"You guys met her too? So what's she like? If she's anything like I think, she's a complete psycho isn't she? I mean, why would some random woman take care of a child that's not even hers? That's my son! And that woman sees him more than I ever do! I bet she's just there, just to take Rebecca's money! I mean, what kind of cold-hearted bitch does that? Taking advantage of a child, for God's Sake!"

"HEY! You don't get to talk about her like that! You don't know her, you've never even met her! She's more of a parent than you are!" Hodgins yelled back, defending his friend.

" You're not even a parent, so you don't get to talk! You may be the expert on bugs, but you're not a parent yet. So you don't know what you're talking about!" Seeley screamed back

" Well I am a parent Seeley. So let me say this, that woman, Ren. She's a great person, a perfect mother to your son by the way. And Parker is lucky to have her, opposed to the way you and Rebecca are treating him!" Cam said, glaring at Booth.

" What do you mean the way Rebecca and I are treating Parker? What the hell, what has Rebecca done?" Booth exclaimed with an almost manic looking gleam in his eye. " Tell me Cam. Tell me now! What do you know? I have more rights to him than that Ren woman does. When I get him, I can finally stop hearing about her, and about how bad of a parent I am. Tel me Camille! What do you know?!" He continued while grabbing onto the pathologist's shoulders and shaking her.

As Angela looked at Booth in horror, she stepped up and struck him across his face. " What the hell Booth? Are you freaking crazy? What right do you have? Coming here, drunk as hell, and yelling at us and manhandling Cam? You know what, ever since you've been playing freaking 'twister' with Hannah, you've changed. And you know what, with they way you've been treating the people around you, I don't know why we stuck around. After everything you put Bren through, and now again with Bre- Ren! Ren is a good mother to Parker, better than you are Rebecca combined, tenfold! If you ever want to see your son again, I suggest you get off your high horse and reevaluate your life before you go around screwing up everyone else's lives!" Angela screamed.

As all the Squints followed Angela to the door, Sweets approached Booth as the rest of the group waited at the door. " Agent Booth, I understand that you never liked me, and probably like me less now that I am Dr. Brennan's side, and Ren's. But please, if you have any fraction of the man you used to be in you, think before you act. With the way things are unfolding these days, you should be more careful. Don't do anything you will regret in the future." And with that, the Squint Squad walked out the door to try and find Brennan, Parker, and Wendell in the parking lot.

In the parking lot, Temperance was holding a sleeping Parker in her arms, while silently sobbing. They could see Wendell trying to help, but confused as to what to do, utterly baffled at seeing his strong mentor in such a vulnerable state. Ren had heard everything Booth had said about her, as Brennan and Ren. And now, with her son in her arms, the final piece of her was broken. The only reason she was alive now, was for Parker and soon for Katie. As she was having her silent breakdown in the parking lot, the Jeffersonian gang surrounded her, trying to console the hurting woman. Even Sweets was at a loss for words. But as Temperance shook with body-wrenching sobs, Parker jerked awake. Somehow, in his young three-year old soul, he knew something was wrong. It was the same feeling he had in his nightmares. The same nightmares where his mom (Ren) was no longer with him, or worse, when she was hurting or when Booth was taking her away. As his young mind jumped to the worst conclusions, he blinked away the sleep in his eyes and solemnly stared up at his mother. He could see the tears in her eyes, and feel her shaking. But even more than that, he could feel her sadness, her anguish. Though many people did not believe Parker was very smart, he actually was quite intuitive. He had noticed the dramatic weight loss, the closed off personality (except with him), the way her eyes stopped sparkling, the way she was always sad.

"Mama."

She froze in her movements. The last thing she wanted, was for her son to see her in this state. She had tried to the best of her ability, to shield him from the pain she was constantly in. As she tried to assure him that she was not crying, Parker in his childish stubbornness would not acquiesce.

"NO!" he squealed. " Mama sad. Mama cwy. Mama cwy cause of Daddy again? Mama, why sad? No sad Mama. Pawka hea now. Mama no mo sad." Parker said, bringing his small, chubby hand to her cheek. Wiping away some of her tears, he beamed up at her. " I pwotec you Mama." He exclaimed. While everyone else watch in silence, and smiled at the young boy's action, Temperance stared into his eyes.

" Baby, it's ok. Mama's just a little sad. But one day, Mama won't be sad anymore. But for now, Mama's just sad. But thank you baby. My little prince is always protecting Mama." She replied with a sad smile on her face. "Come on baby, let's go home. Are you still hungry? You want dessert? We have ice cream at home!" Ren spoke. With a fake smile plastered on her face, she tried to deter Parker from the topic of her pain and sadness caused by his father. Unconvinced, Parker looked in his mother's eyes. But for some reason, he knew that he shouldn't push the subject. And so, the intuitive toddler just nodded and buried his face in the deep valley of her shoulder blades again. As Temperance strapped him in his car seat, she faced her friends once more. She gave them all a sad smile, and to their surprise, embraced them all once. She had finally given up. She and Booth were done. Then she drove away.

At Brennan's apartment, Ren quickly took a shower and gave Parker a quick bath. Then she tucked him in bed and went into her own room. For about fifteen minutes, she just sat there. Her back leaning against the headboard, a pillow in her arms, being constricted by her shaking arms. Her eyes, wide eyed and glassy, staring at the space in front of her. And for the first time in her life, there was nothing. Her mind was empty. No forensic battler, no plans on what to do tomorrow, not even any thoughts of Booth. It was empty. A soft knock at her door pulled her out of the trance. As the door open, there stood Parker in his black pajamas decorated with femurs.

" Mama. I no sleep. I sleep wif Mama? Pwease Mama?" Parker asked with puppy dog eyes that were so much like his father's.

" No! You are Ren Brennan. Dr. Temperance Brennan. You are not Bones. Only he calls you Booth. And he has made it clear that you are nothing to him" She thought. Ren then looked at her small son, smiled, and opened her arms wide. As he ran to her, she lifted him up onto the bed. Parker lay next to her. But as he tossed and turned, Ren knew the events of tonight was bothering him. " Baby, I promise. Everything is going to be okay. I promise. No matter what happens, we will be fine. I love you Parker." She sighed. " I wuv you too Mama." He replied. Ren then lifted Parker, and lay him on top of her, chest to chest. Just like mothers would with small babies. As she did, he placed his ear to her chest and popped her thumb into his mouth. As she stroked his hair, he spoke once more. "Wuwabye Mama?" With a small smile, she started to sing softly.

_It's gonna be alright. It's gonna be alright._

_I can tell, by your eyes, that you're not getting any sleep._

_And you try to rise above, you feel you're sinking in to deep._

_But I believe, I believe,_

_That it's gonna be alright._

_Its gonna be alright,_

_I believe, that you'll outlive, this pain in your heart…_

As she sang, Temperance looked down at her son. " Parker, it's gonna be alright. I promise, it's gonna be alright. One day you'll outlive this pain in your heart." She stated.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

"Mama! Mama! Wake up! Mama, Mama! OO MONIN!OO MONIN!" Parker exclaimed, trying to wake his mother up.

Ren groaned as she woke up. As she tested out her movements, her normal fluid joints popped and crackled. Her muscles, straining against her movements. " Yes, it is a **Good **morning." Ren replied.

" Oh! Goo Monin!" Parker repeated, giggling a little.

"Good job baby! You said your g! Oh that's wonderful my little prince!" She exclaimed joyously. Anything to try and boost her son's confidence. " Okay baby, what are we going to do today. You tell mama, and then we'll see if it's right."

" We gots to showa, cwodes, and bwekfas!" he answered, pumping his little fists in the air with the mention of food.

" Okay baby, that's all right! Do you want to shower with Mama, or do you want to take a bath by yourself?" She asked, already knowing his answer.

" Siwy Mama. Pawka showa wif Mama."

" Okay baby, then can you go into Mama's bathroom and turn on the water?" And with that, he ran into the large bathroom. And into the large shower and brought out his little stool. He stood on it and then turned on the hot water all the way, and the cold water just a little. He then took out his stool, and placed it under the sink once again. Ren smiled at the independent, and responsible behavior of her son. She then entered the bathroom and stripped herself of her clothes. And then helped Parker with his clothes. (**Please don't think that this is awkward or inappropriate in any way. My brother and I would shower with our mom until we were around ten years old.)** He then raised his arms, and Ren picked him up. With Parker in her arms, she entered the warm water. He burrowed his face into the hollow of her clavicle while she stepped under the spray of the warm water. As she and Parker were both good and wet, she placed him on the small bench that she put in her bathroom for him. As he sat down, she washed his hair and then made sure to not get any soap into his eyes and she rinsed it out. As she was shampooing her hair, Parker exclaimed " Mama! I waf for Mama too?" With a small laugh she kneeled in front of him as he placed his small hands into her soapy hair. But try as he might, all he did was manage to get bubbles all over himself. As he got frustrated, tears threatened to fall out of his eyes. " I do nofin wight Mama. I sorry. I sorry. I be goo. Pwease Mama. I sorry, no wet daddy take me away. I sorry Mama."

Ren's smile faltered over her son's low opinions of himself. She washed her hands off and cleaned Parker of his soapy body. " Parker, look at me. Look at Mama." She said sternly as he slowly raised his head and met her ice-blue eyes, with his teary brown ones. " Parker, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are not a failure. Everyone makes mistakes. And baby, you did just fine. I will never let your father take you away from me, okay? You are the **best thing** that has ever happened to me. Okay baby?" As he nodded and smiled, she smiled as well. She then soaped up her hands again and blew a bubble with the soap in her hands. As he smiled, Parker soaped up his hands in his mother's hair and carefully blew a bubble. As they finished their shower, Ren noticed that her son was still a little down. " Baby, you want to take a bubble bath with Mama? I haven't taken a math in a while, and Mama doesn't want to take one alone. Will you take one with me?"

Parker's face lit up with a smile and ferociously nodded his assent. So, Ren washed both of them off and then turned off the water. She then stepped out of the shower and turned the knobs in the bath tub, and filled it with warm water and some bubbles. Ren then picked Parker up, and slowly entered the bathtub. As she crouched down to sit in the bath, Parker tightened his arms and legs around her. So Ren and her Koala-like baby sat in the bathtub. As she placed a rolled up towel under her neck as a pillow, Parker unwrapped himself around her and lay on top of her. As the two of them settled into the bathtub, she sat up and placed Parker into the water so they were separate. As she played with the bubbles with him, Parker started to sing the bone song. " Da weg boe conecuh to da knee boe, da knee boe conecuh to da tie boe, da tie boe conecuh to da ba boe"

" Good Job Baby! Oh my Little Prince is so smart!" Ren exclaimed, lifting her son into the air smiling up at him. "Come one baby, let's get out and eat some breakfast!" And with an excited squeal, Parker agreed. She rinsed them of with some water, and then dried them both off. Ren then walked to Parker's room and picked out his clothes. She took out some jean bermudas and a red/maroon color shirt with the words, Mama's Prince on it and smiled. Parker grabbed his clothes then followed his Mama to her room. He then ran into her closet, brought out his stool and picked a pair of Jean shorts and a dark red blouse. As he passed her, her clothes, she smiled at the matching colors. Once she put on her shorts, she frowned at how large they were for her. She brought out a belt and cinched it to the tightest hole. As she put on the shirt, she noticed how it was much looser than before. " Hmmm, looks like Mama has to get some new clothes. They are all to big on me."

" Nuh uh Mama. Mama too smaw fo cwothes. Mama wegs an awms too smaw. Mama gots to eat mo, no buy mo cwothes." Parker replied thoughtfully.

Surprised at his observation, Ren silently nodded. " Okay baby, let's go eat breakfast." The two then set off through the large apartment to the huge kitchen area. In the past months, Ren had moved to a different Apartment Building. She had left her previous one after her fallout with Booth, too many memories, and bought this one instead. It was in the most wealthy district of D.C in the largest apartment complex. She had gotten the Penthouse, which in itself, was not an apartment at all, more like a very spacious single story house. The apartment was painted in light hues of blues, purples, and greys. As the two finished breakfast, Ren put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and washed her and Parker's sticky hands covered in Maple Syrup.

After, Ren walked over to the living room area checking for calls from Rebecca, and beckoned Parker over. She sat in the large armchair and brought Parker into her lap, as she placed her cell phone on the small single/desk/cabinet next to her. " Parker, do you remember who's coming tomorrow?"

" Twin sistah! Kadee comin home!"

" That's right baby, Katie's coming home tomorrow, and so today, you and I have to go shopping today."

"No goo Mama, was minuh shoppin."

" Haha. I know baby, last minute shopping isn't good. But I talked to the owner's of the store we are going to, and we made a deal. Today, from two to five, I get to shop in their stores only, buy whatever we need, and then they will bring it to our home today. Good plan, yes?

" Goo Pwan!"

"Okay, so we'll call your Mom, and then we'll leave." Once she saw his look of confusion, she reiterated. " We'll call your mother Parker. We'll call Rebecca." And with that she dialed Becca's number. "Hey Becca! Yeah it's Ren. Why are you breathing so hard…. Hahaha Becca! It's still morning! No sorry, yes of course. Do you want to talk to Parker?" Once she heard the reply, Ren quickly stood up, leaving Parker in the chair. " What do you mean you're leaving today Becca? You were supposed to be leaving next weekend? Becca, how could you? Parker is still your son for one more week! Does he even know? You already said goodbye?"

" Ren, I'm sorry. I know that means nothing right now, but it's the last thing I can do for my son. You're his mother now. The new owners are going to move into the house tomorrow. I packed up all of Parker's things, and all the things I want him to have. They will be delivered to you tomorrow. I already said goodbye to him, I think he understands what's going on. Ren, you have to go to the courthouse today, sign all the papers to make him officially yours."

" Becca-"

" No Ren. I love you, you are my best friend and the mother of my son. There's nothing you can say to talk me out of this. Brent and I are leaving for the airport in half an hour. Tell Parker I love him. Take good care of him Ren. I'm going to tell Seeley today, so get ready for some Hell. I love you Ren. You're the best mother, and I can't thank you enough." She said tearfully.

"Becca!" and with that, Rebecca hung up on her. She threaded her fingers through her hair. Ren then walked into the kitchen and took out three small boxes from one of the kitchen drawers. With them in hand, she returned to the chair and placed Parker in her lap, face to face.

"Parker, baby. Rebecca's gone. She and Brent left for California already. She said you guys already said goodbye." She said, not really knowing what else to say.

Parker silently nodded as his eyes filled up with tears. His Mama seemed upset. Did she not want him anymore? Was she going to only take Katie and give away him? Did she finally hate him because of what his Daddy did? As his silent crying turned into sobs, Ren cradled Parker to her chest. "Parker, it's going to be okay. I promise. Oh baby, no. No sweetie, Mama's not upset with you. No no no Parker. I am so happy to be with you." But she said this all in vain. Parker could not hear a word she was saying over his sobbing. Not knowing what to do, Ren quickly grabbed her phone and called someone she never thought she would ask help for.

"Hello, this is Lance Sweets."

" Dr. Sweets! Please help, Parker, he's upset, I've never seen him like this. He won't stop crying and starting to hyperventilate! Oh my God, what do I do? Please, please tell me what to do! It's never been this bad!" she cried out

" Dr. Brennan? Dr. Brennan listen to me. He is probably having an anxiety or panic attack. The fastest way to calm him down is to show him that you are not leaving him. Hold him, give skin-to-skin contact, make him feel loved. Make him breathe evenly. You should try" and then she hung up on him.

Ren threw her phone down and took off her shirt and bra. She grabbed Parker and took off his shirt as well. She quickly picked him up and cradled him into her body as she sat down in the chair. She placed her hand on his head, calming him down. As his wheezing started to lessen in intensity, Parker nuzzled his way in between her breasts as she rocked him back and forth cooing to him. As he calmed down she put her clothes back on in a matter of seconds. As Parker whined at the cloth barrier in between them, he picked up the hem of her shirt, and burrowed underneath the shirt, to her chest. As he stopped at her bra, he whined in frustration over the loss of skin contact and started to tear up again. With wide eyes, Ren unclasped her bra and whipped it off. As she sat in the chair, she thought about what just happened. Some would call her perverted or eccentric. A woman that was not the boys biological mother, baring her naked body to her three year old boy. But to her, it didn't matter. She was always very comfortable with her body, and Parker was not shy about this aspect at all. At night he would always nuzzle his way under her shirts and sleep in the valley between her two breasts, it was a place of warmth, where her heart lay. He grappled for her hand, and once she gave in, he took her thumb and popped it into his mouth. It was now or never to talk to him.

"Parker, can you hear me?" As she asked she felt his head move up and down. " Okay, Parker, you don't have to talk just nod okay?" She said, as he nodded once more. " Baby, I will never leave you. I will never hate you. I will always love you. And I don't know how many times I have to tell you this until you believe me, but I will never stop loving you. You are my son. My little Prince. The reason that I am still here, living here. I will never let anyone hurt you. I will never let your father take you away from me. I won't make you see Rebecca or your father ever again if you don't want to. No one will ever leave you again. I love you too much to see you hurt again." As parker picked up his head, he stared into her blue eyes.

"Mama, Beca mama weave Pawka. Daddy weave Pawka."

" I know baby. And I'm so sorry for that. But I will never leave you."

" Nobody love Pawka but Mama. Evwybody frow away Pawka."

" Oh no, sweetie, they didn't throw you away. They just, they're, they're stupid baby. They don't know how good you are, how special you are. And you know what, that's their problem. And you know what? They will never take you away from me. You daddy can't take you away, and no one else can. Because today, when we leave we are going to this special place. And at this place, Mama is going to sign a piece of paper saying that you're mine forever. That you're my son and I'm your Mama, and no one, not even you daddy or God can take you away from me. Because you are my baby."

" Daddy no take Pawka away? Daddy say take me away fwom Wen. Take me away fwom Wen and live with Daddy an Hanna. I no wike them Mama. I no wove them."

" I know baby, I won't let him."

" Pwomise Mama? I be goo, I pwomise. Pwease, stay wif you." He pleaded

" I promise. No one will ever take you away. And if they try, I'll fight them. I will fight every step of the way."

" Okay Mama." And then he lowered his head to her chest again.

" Parker, look at this, and with that, she brought out two small boxes in a flourish. "Open it" As Parker carefully opened it, he gasped at what was inside. There were two dog tags on a metal chain. " It has where we live and how to find me in case you ever get lost. And the other one says, Parker Matthew Brennan; son of Temperance Brennan and brother of Katie Brennan. And on mine the first one is the same. And the second say Temperance Brennan, mother of Katie Joanne Brennan and Parker Matthew Brennan. And Katie has one just like these ones. Now, even if we get lost, we can always find each other."

" Mama name no Tempwance, is Wen!"

" I know baby, but Ren is just a nickname."

" Okay. Mama?"

" Yes Baby?"

" We's a family now."

" That's right baby, we are a family." As they placed their dog tags around their necks they smiled at each other. After, with Parker still clinging onto her, under her shirt, Ren got up and got ready. She took out a small messenger bag, and put her sunglasses, keys, wallet, snacks and Juice Boxes, and put them on the sofa next to the arm chair. She slipped her phone into her pocket, and wondered how she was going to pry Parker off of her. As the door bell rang, she tried to unhinge Parker from herself. But as he cried and whimpered as she did so, she stopped. Whoever was at the door was going to think she's crazy. As she opened the door with a confused smile, Angela, Hodgins, Sweets, Daisy, Wendell, and Cam all ushered themselves into her apartment. With a chorus of hellos, Sweets was the first one to speak.

" I see everything's okay now Dr. Brennan? I just came over in case."

"Of course Dr. Sweets, and thank you. I would greet you guys properly, but I'm afraid I'm a little preoccupied." As they all smiled at her and nodded, she spoke again. " But why are you here?

" We just thought you might need some help sweetie, with Katie coming home tomorrow and stuff." Angela replied

" Yes , just thought you might need some man power to lift things, you know." Wendell replied good-naturedly.

" Well thank you! Parker and I were actually going to head off to the courthouse to sign the adoption papers, and then to the mall to go shopping. Once I told them who I was, and the situation, the store owners were very gracious. They invited me to my own private shopping spree, and my personal bag carriers. They will drop off all the items I purchase, right to the apartment today."

As Cam smiled, " Well that's great. We can get out of your way for a little while though, for the courthouse meeting I mean."

" No! I… I would very much appreciate it, if you all were there. You are all my family, no matter what happens or I say. And I would love to have you there, as I welcome my first child into my home." Everyone smiled, and then Daisy broke the silence.

" Dr. Brennan, would you like to get dressed? If you want to head out soon?" As Brennan nodded, she asked everyone to turn around. She quickly lifted up her shirt, and unleashed Parker's grip on her. As she pulled down her shirt, she held him again. " Will you guys watch him, while I redress?" As everyone nodded yes, she ran to the chair, swiftly grabbed her abandoned bra, and ran to her bedroom. She put her bra on, and walked over to her vanity. As she applied some light makeup, she heard Parker start to cry. She quickly ran a brush through her hair, and made her exit.

" Ahhhhhh! I wan-I wan MAMA! Ahhhhh! (gasp) I wan MAMA! MAMA!MAMA!MAMA! MAMA! I be goo, MAMA! WAHHHH! MAMA!" Parker cried, while tugging on the dog tags around his neck. His face was no bright red, with tears and snot covering his face. As he started to hyperventilate, the group tried to calm him down. But every time they tried to speak to him or touch him, he would scream. By now he was hyperventilating, and that was when Ren entered the living room. She ran to the kitchen and dampened a soft cloth, and ran back to Parker. She scooped him up and sat in the arm chair. As he sat in her lap, he picked up the hem of her shirt again, and snuggled inside, feeling her warmth and heartbeat. As she looked down at him, she wiped his face of tears and mucous, and then proceeded to wipe off her now damp chest. As everyone stared in awe, Ren calmed Parker down in less than thirty seconds. As his breathing calmed, he slowly drifted off to sleep. All the crying had stressed him and tired him out for the day. Once he fell into a deep sleep, she lifted her shirt up and slipped him out, and then cradled him again, with the clothes barrier this time.

"I'm sorry. I should have known better. It's not your fault he cried, he just gets scared when I'm not there. Thank you though." She explained in a sincere tone. As the Squint Squad waved off her apology, Ren stood up. As Wendell grabbed her messenger bag, she told everyone of her plan for the day, and they agreed whole-heartedly. As they entered the elevator and went down to the basement level/parking garage, Ren stopped.

" I know I haven't been the most agreeable person in the past. I know I was cold and harsh, but I can not put into words, how much you all being here means to me and Parker. I promise that from now on, you will get to know me, get to know Ren. Dr. Temperance Brennan is only the mask I put on when working on remains. But from now on, I'm Ren. To all of you, friends, interns, colleagues regardless. And I hope that you all love me as Ren, even more than you did as Temperance." She said tearfully

" Dr. B, we will love you no matter who you are. Dr. Temperance Brennan is kick ass! She's the number one forensic anthropologist in the world. But Ren, she's pretty awesome too. I might say, that she's even better the Temperance. Leave the mask at work. The calm, cold , collected Tempe for the murderers and Booth to deal with. But to us, your family, you were always Ren. You were always our family. Let us help you, where we couldn't before, now we can. Let us help you Ren." Hodgins said.

With a smile, she nodded and led all her friends to her car. It was a large yellow Humvee. " I hope we all fit in here. Ever since my latest book has gotten to popular, and the movie started filming, I'm afraid I've gotten quite popular. This is my driver, Eric, he will drive us around today. I don't drive much ever since the quick rise of popularity, too many paparazzi follow me."

" OMG! Dr. Brennan, I mean Ren! This is amazing!"

" I suppose it is, Daisy." She smiled. " All right, everyone in. Eric can you take us to the courthouse please?" She asked, as she buckled herself and Parker into his car seat.

" Of course Ms. Brennan. That will be no problem."

As they drove to the courthouse, Ren looked around the car. She had a family, she was part of a family. The only one missing was Boo-. No, she thought. You can't think about him. You said you were done, remember? He broke you. No. Booth is done. She looked at Parker. Even though Booth had broken her heart and her spirit, he had given her one thing. In a unconventional way, he had given her Parker. And Parker was the one thing that Booth could never take away or break from her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Okay. Chapter 2. YAY!**

_Even though Booth had broken her heart and her spirit, he had given her one thing. In an unconventional way, he had given her Parker. And Parker was the one thing that Booth could never take away or break from her._

As the group of 8 arrived at the courthouse, Eric parked the car. " Ms. Brennan, it appears that the media are still following us. They have surrounded the courthouse and the paparazzi are outside the car as we speak. Though they cannot see through the tinted windows, when you exit the car, the flashes will start. I have alerted security and the local law enforcement. Your private security guards are outside of this car as we speak."

" Thank you, Eric. I guess I was naïve to believe this wouldn't happen. All right everyone, put on your sunglasses, and don't smile or look at the photographers. Everyone stay together, and don't get lost."

" All right ma'am, is everything set?" Eric asked.

" Almost Eric." She replied as she unstrapped a sleepy Parker from his car seat. " Baby, wake up for just a little bit. When we get out of the car, there's going to be a lot of people with camera's screaming and taking pictures. I want you to ignore them, okay?" As she said that, she held him in her arms and placed his head to her chest. " Just listen to my heartbeat okay, think of Mama. It's going to be okay, and it'll only last a minute. I'm going to put this blanket over your head, but I don't want you to worry or panic."

" Mama gonna be okay? I pwotec Mama."

" I know baby, and you are so good at taking care of me baby. But this time, nothing can be done. So I'm going to carry you in, and Aunt Angie, Camie, and Daisy are going to be following us with Uncle Jack, Sweets, and Wendell, okay? We're not going to let anything happen to you. And baby, no matter what, ignore what those people are going to yell out."

" Okay Mama, I wuv you Mama."

" I love you too baby." And with that, Parker tilted his head up and gave her a kiss. As Ren smiled, she placed her sunglasses over her eyes as everyone followed suit. As the doors opened, the Squint Squad hustled out, ushered by the security guards. Ren was the last one out, and as everyone watched from the inside of the courthouse, the flashes multiplied. She was being blinded, despite the sunglasses. This had to stop. " Eric! Eric!" she shouted, as her trusted driver came to her side. " Take Parker, I'll handle this" As she passed Parker over to him, Parker started to cry.

" It's okay little man. I got you, Mama will be here in a minute." Erica assured the sobbing three year old, as he ran into the building. Ren then, fixed her sunglasses, waved away stray strands of her hair, and walked towards the bulbs. All around her, screaming voices were heard.

" Dr. Brennan, is it true? Is that your secret love-child with your FBI partner?"

" Has the recent breakup with Agent Booth, urged you to file full custody for your child?"

"Dr. Brennan, is it true you are adopting another child?"

All around her, all she could hear was: Dr. Brennan! Dr. Brennan! Dr. Brennan!

As she plastered on a smile and gestured them to quiet down, she calmly answered their questions. " In this stressful time of my life, I have reevaluated my priorities. My family is the most important thing to me. And that child you all saw me carry in, yes. That is my son. Regardless of birth or not, he is my son. And at this moment, I am his only family, and he is mine. His father is not in the picture currently. And yes, his sister, and my daughter will join our family shortly. We are here today to clarify some legal things. I know all of you are very curious about what is going on, but I ask for some privacy. As my family, friends, and I get through this transition phase, I would appreciate some media silence on your part. Thank you." As she finished, the paparazzi uncharacteristically quickly silenced. They dropped their cameras and walked away. Seeing this woman who was normally ignored them, and everyone else, was reaching out to them, asking them to nicely leave her alone. (I** know this never happens in real life, but we shall pretend?)** The only thing that Ren wondered was how long this "silence" would last. Probably only a couple of hours.

Once she entered the courthouse, all eyes were upon her. People stared at the very famous and successful woman enter the courthouse. As she spotted her friends, she smiled and immediately walked towards them. She could hear Parker crying and screaming for her. As she got closer she spotted him. He was in the corner, screaming and wheezing, in the midst of a panic attack.

" Ahhhh! WAAHHH! MAMA! NO! I BE GOO! NO MAMA! NO, DON TAKE MAMA! NO! PWEASE! MAMA DON! MAMA!" And every time a person tried to approach him, Parker started to scream louder and wheeze harder. As a crowd formed around him, Parker became even more frightened. Though his blurry tear-filled eyes, he looked at all the people around him, though he recognized some, none of them where who he was looking for. As Ren ran through the crowd, she pushed and shoved people out of her way. As she frantically ran through the crowd, she finally found Parker in the middle, surrounded by the Jeffersonian Gang, and others.

" Oh Baby. Look at me, Baby." Ren softly cooed as she kneeled down in front of his bawling body. As he looked up at her, still crying a wheezing, she stood up. " Wendell, will you please give me your sweatshirt?" As he looked at her with a puzzled face, he untied his sweatshirt from his waist and gave it to her. Ren then walked back over the Parker. She motioned Cam forward and told her to hold the sweatshirt. Ren then took a step towards Parker. She swiftly picked him up and then took the sweatshirt from Cam. She quickly tied the sweatshirt around her and a screaming, wiggling Parker. He had not opened his eyes, or registered whom this mysterious woman.

"NO! NO! I WAN MAMA! I WAN MAMA! MAMA!"

Ren then gently lifter his chin. " Open your eyes Parker. Open your eyes for Mama, baby."

As he recognized her voice and touch of her hand, he shot his eyes open and stopped crying. He then became very silent. As he lifted his pudgy hand, he placed his hand on her cheek and gently stroked her cheek. " You my Mama." It was not a question.

" Yes baby, I'm your Mama."

" You gib me too Ewic. Then you wun outside to da scweamin people."

" I know baby. Mama just had to talk to those people so they would leave us alone for a little while. Now, only one or two will be there, not twenty or thirty. Mama was not leaving you baby."

" I knows."

"You do?" she answered incredulously. " How did you know?" She asked in a playful voice

And he looked up at her with a grave face, and stared in her eyes. He grabbed her dog tags around her neck, and his neck, and held them out. " I Pawka Bwennan. Mama's Wen Bwennan. We's a famwy now. Mama nebah leab me."

"That's right! Oh, my little Prince is so smart!" She exclaimed while kissing his cheek. As she blew a raspberry on it, Parker started to laugh and squirm. As the crowd slowly dissipated, everything went back to normal. As she approached her friends, they all looked at her with guilty smiles.

" I am so sorry ma'am. I tried to stop his crying and get rid of the crowd, but they would not budge, and then Parker became even more frantic. I am very sorry Ms. Brennan."

" It's okay Eric. It wasn't your fault. Everything's fine. He would have gotten upset, even if I had told Parker where I was going. It's okay." She assured him. As the receptionist guided her to one of the private rooms, the group followed Ren through the double doors.

"Ahh. Ren! It's so nice to see you again!"

" The same to you, Heather. Or shall I call you Mrs. Matthews, or is it Judge Matthews now?" Ren replied with a chuckle.

" Don't sass me! It's still Heather to you, no matter how important of a judge I am, or who I marry."

" So important that you don't see your favorite baby sister for over two weeks?" Ren joked good-naturedly.

" Well, not my fault. I had to take care of Katie's adoption. And it didn't help that Becca called me yesterday morning, and told me she was leaving the next day."

"Hmm. That's true" Ren responded sadly.

" Oh! Hello, I'm sorry, but; who are you all?" Heather asked politely.

" Oh! I'm sorry. This is Cam, Wendell, Daisy, Lance, Angela, and Jack. They work with me at the Jeffersonian. They are our family." Ren explained.

"Oh! Well, welcome to the family! Nice of you to join us. You have no idea how happy I am, knowing that she has a strong support system here. Ever since, the last time, we've all been so worried about her."

" Last time? And who's we?" Angela inquired.

" The rest of the family of course. Last time, well that's a-"

" OKAY! Enough of let's share stories about Ren. Let's get this show on the street." Ren exclaimed.

" It's road Ren. But that was really close." Ren rolled her eyes at Heather. " Alright, I get it. Okay. So, Dr. Temperance Brennan, you are here to sign the adoption papers for a Parker Matthew Booth, to become a Parker Matthew Brennan. And then after, I'll have you sign the papers for a Katie Brennan."

After all the necessary paperwork was signed, Heather clapped her hands together and smiled. "Okay, you are now Dr. Temperance Brennan, mother to Parker Matthew Brennan and Katie Rose Brennan."

As screams of joy were yelped, Angela, Cam, and Daisy all took out their cameras. As numerous pictures were taken, Heather pulled Ren aside.

" Sorry guys, I just need to borrow Dr. Brennan for a second."

As Temperance shared a look with Heather, she relinquished Parker's hold on her. " Parker, I just need to talk to Auntie Heather." She said in a monotone voice.

As Heather pulled her to the other side of the room, the two walked to the farthest corner.

" Jack! What was that conspiracy thing you told me the other day? About corners and stuff?" Angela whispered loudly. As the crowd gathered around Jack, he ushered the group to the corner opposite to Ren and Heather.

" Apparently, the old judicial building in D.C were built with what I call "echo corners". If you stand at opposite corners, you can hear what the other people are saying. And Hodgins was right.

" I never thought that I would ever meet Dr. Temperance Brennan." Heather joked.

" And I never thought that anyone else would get to meet Ren."

" What are you going to do now? Ren and Temperance are mixed in with both lives. If they ever figure out, who you are… Ren. We made Ren so you could live your life freely. And Dr. Temperance Brennan being a famous anthropologist and author, as well as the hot topic of the media is not helping the situation. What if someone recognizes you?"

" I'm being careful, Heather. I really am. But I'm so tired, Heather. I'm so tired." Ren replied shakily. " They know who I am. They know Temperance **and** Ren!" She gestured towards the Jeffersonian gang, who immediately raised their heads and smiled. " Why can't everybody else? They will understand!"

" You're right. Everyone will understand. Your friends will, so will your family. They will understand, we're your family, the others will understand."

" But what about all the others. Papa and the others. I've put them through so much. And then all the magazines and newspaper about Max and Christine Brennan, and Russ. My biological family will never forgive me for replacing them."

" No! Don't think about them. If they really are your family, they'll understand. There is no rule saying you can only have one family. Isn't that what you're teaching Parker?"

" I know. Everyone else will understand. They'll get over it. They have too, right?"

"Right. But what about Booth." Heather asked.

With the mention of his name, Ren froze. " What about Booth?" She choked out.

" You just received custody of his son. He will want to take him from you. If he finds out-"

" Then he finds out. But that's up to him to discover. I will tell everyone else, but not him. He's not… He's not my family anymore. And that's final."

" You're lying. You still love him. Even though it's hurting you, you still love him! Ren, how can you?!"

" I… I… I can't love him! I can't! For Parker's, Katie's and my sake, I can't. It's going to end badly; it already ended badly!"

" No. Don't think about Boo-him. Okay? It won't be like that. Maybe it's better this way. You don't need a man to tie you down or tell you what to do, at least for now. You have Parker, and Katie. And you have all of us."

" You're right. That's all I need. I don't need anyone. I am done with men!"

" WHOA!" she yelled, as the Jeffersonian group jumped up with surprise. She lowered her voice. " Ren! You can't just swear off of men!"

As Ren tried to protest, Heather cut her off- " If you do… I'm going to call the rest of the family! And they're all going to come down her and knock some sense into you. We didn't take you out of that hellhole 16 years ago for nothing."

" I'm 32 years old Heather! I can take care of myself now. Fine. Its' just… I can't. I'm so…"

" I know Ren. It'll get better. Don't worry."

As the two embraced each other, they looked to the Jeffersonian group, who were staring at them a smiling.

" Oh my god… The judicial buildings. The corners!" Ren exclaimed

" Ren, we might have heard everything you guys spoke about, we don't know what any of that means. And we won't strangle the information out of you. If and when you want to tell us about what happened, and your life, we will listen. But for now, I think we have to purchase some items for a very special little girl." Cam replied. As Ren nodded in agreement, she issues a silent thank you to Cam.

" And for God's Sake, Ren! Why aren't you eating?" Heather criticized. As Ren looked back at her with an uncomfortable look, Angela cut in. " Heather. I might not know you very well, but from what it looks like, Ren is a sister to both of us. We will take care of Ren, and this uhh… issue."

As Ren looked at Heather and then Angela, she groaned in protest. It seemed those two women were having some silent conversation. " I'm fine! If anyone were listening, you would hear me saying that I'm fine! Okay? I'm fine!" Ren exclaimed.

" uh uh! Mama pokey! Doctah Bones is Boney!" Parker squealed, giggling at his own word pun.

As Ren started to laugh, she picked Parker up and swung him around her. " All right! We really have to get going. Let's go guys! Thank you Heather! I will call you once Katie arrives."

"All right Ren. I love you. Don't forget that. Family Forever little sister."

" Family Forever big sister." Ren replied with a smile and a tear in her eyes. As they hugged one last time, they exited Heather's office.

Walking out of the courthouse, the security guards escorted them to the Humvee where Eric ushered them into the car. Once arriving at the mall, the door opened and a woman entered the car.

" Paige! What are you doing here?" Ren questioned. Was today a family reunion or something?

" What I can't visit my baby sister? Fine then." Paige replied faking a pout.

" All right. What do you want? Are you here as family or my publicist?" Ren questioned.

" Both. But mostly Publicist. Your little speech to the paparazzi is all over the Internet, and there is a bunch of people waiting for you at the entrance of the mall. Give me a list of the stores you're going to, and then I can make sure that they're empty of other people."

" Okay, but why?" Ren questioned.

" Because. You're not entering that mall as Ren. You're entering that mall as the beautiful and successful forensic anthropologist and author Dr. Temperance Brennan. You just "broke up" with your boyfriend, and received custody of his child. Plus you're adopting another one. You are going to be in the spotlight for a while. Business is Booming!" As Ren groaned, Paige continued. " So when you get in the mall, you need to act like that wonderful celebrity that you are. Here!" she said, while throwing a small duffel bag at her. There are some short-shorts, a top, some stilettos, Ray Bans, and a Prada bag. Change now. I'll put up the divider in the car, so hurry." With an eye roll, Ren complied and put up the divider. As she put on her clothes, she groaned in exasperation.

" You have got to be kidding me! Paige! This is way too much skin, all you gave me was short-shorts and a tank top, I'm looking for some things for my daughter, I'm not looking for a hook-up!"

" Oh my gosh! I can't believe you used hook-up correctly! This is a momentous occasions! Now get you butt back her, put down the divider, let's see!" Paige squealed.

As the divider was lowered, Ren walked back to her seat. As everyone gawked at her, Paige lowered her voice. " Goddammit Ren! What the hell are you doing? Huh? Are you trying to starve yourself today? Do I have to call the others?!"

Once she mentioned "The others" the squint squad all looked at each other.

"Enough with the third degree! For the last time! I'm fine! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself! I am still perfectly healthy, okay!"

" I don't have time for this! Get your pretty ass out there and smile for the cameras. You might as well look happy while every freakin magazine in the world labels you with eating disorders and anorexia. And for once, I won't fight it. Because when we went into this business, we always said we would never lie." Paige replied angrily.

" Fine! I'm a little skinnier than usual, what the big deal?"

" The big deal! Ever since you broke up with Booth, you've been drowning in your own crap. For God's Sake Ren! Get it together! Maybe Dr. Temperance Brennan is fine, but Ren isn't. And maybe you're starting to integrate the two together into your lives-thank god. But Ren is the one that is my sister, the mother to Parker and Katie. I don't want them to ever see you in a hospital bed getting force fed through IVs."

" It won't get that bad, Paige. I'm trying. But I won't- I can't. I'm not hungry anymore. Paige, I just- I can't. Booth, and I… we're just. I just. I can't." Ren replied through tears.

" Oh baby. No come one, don't cry on me. I didn't mean to make you upset baby sis. But, you got to live. Not just stay alive, sweetie. You have to live, if not for you; then for your kids. Family Forever baby sister. Don't forget that. We will always be here for you; we're your family. We know you inside and out, it doesn't matter what you do, we just want to know that you're happy."

"Okay. Let's finish this later. By now, Heather has probably told everyone about me, and you will tell everyone too I bet. So let me go out and shop, and I'll meet up with you and the rest of the family after Katie and Parker are both settled in. Family Forever big sister."

And with that, Paige motioned for everyone to put on their sunglasses and smile. As Ren placed her bag in the crook of her arm, she carried Parker in her arms, and covered him with a blanket.

"Okay baby, there's lots of people here to see us. So it's going to be a little loud and scary. So just snuggle into Mama, and it'll be all okay."

As Parker nodded in understanding, he placed his head into the hollow of her clavicle and closed his eyes. As everyone exited the Humvee, they were escorted into the mall. Finally, Paige exited, followed by Ren. As everyone started screaming and shouting at her, the flashes of the cameras almost blinded her. She placed a killer smile on her face, and strut her way into the mall. Right before she went in, she placed a smirk on her face, and blew a kiss to the crowd.

" That was brilliant Ren! They loved you!" Paige squealed. "All right, I'm off. Got to do some damage control on the whole Booth thing."

And so the group walked through the mall, purchasing everything necessary for the best bedroom a three year old girl could ask for. She purchased a light purple canopy princess bed, with matching dressers and vanities. After that, she purchased some furniture for Parker as well. Parker picked out a racecar bed and then Ren picked out some furniture for him.

" Mama. Jus b'cause we buys a bed, don me I sweep awone dere wight? I still sweep with Mama?"

" If you want too baby. I have a feeling Katie is going to be sleeping with Mama for a while, we would be so happy if you join us."

" I do it! I sweep wif Mama an Katie. I pwotec yous fwom monstahs!" He replied in a strong voice while puffing out his chest.

" Okay baby!" Ren replied with a laugh.

" Hey Ren! It's already one, you want to grab some lunch?" Wendell asked

Some sadness and panic flashed crossed Ren's face. But then nodded and smiled as Parker clapped excitedly over the prospect of food.

As the large party of eight was seated, Parker refused to sit in his own seat. As Parker sat in his mother's lap, the rest of the group started to read their menus.

" What do you want to eat baby?" Ren asked

" I eat what Mama eat." He replied simply, as he colored the kids menu the waitress had handed to him.

As she nodded, Ren pursed her lips and returned to glaring at the menu. Oblivious to everything surrounding her, the rest of the group all stared at her while she glared at the menu. It looked like she was going to kill it. As the waitress came, they all placed their order. Everyone ordered some type of pasta or pizza, seeing that it was an Italian Restaurant. As the waitress turned to Ren, she grimaced and then placed her order.

" Hi. May I please have the fettuccine alfredo please, half size." Even though she ordered the smaller version, everyone else at the table was surprised at her high-calorie choice of dish. While everyone smiled over there so thought "victory", Ren started to feel sick. Even the thought of eating nauseated her. _What am I going to do? I can't eat. Oh God. I think I'm going to puke just thinking about it._ Just then, Parker looked up from his drawing and smiled as the food arrived. As the pasta was set in front of them, everyone started to eat. Ren twirled some pasta on the fork.

" Mama! Pasta pwease."

" Okay baby. Good job with your manners." She replied absentmindedly. As she started to feed Parker, she was trying with all her might, to not throw up. But as she saw the eyes of everyone else on the table, she started to eat little bits as well. _Booth won't love you if you're fat Ren. Look at how pretty and slender Hannah is. __**NO!**__ Don't think that way, Booth is done. Don't think that way. _As her emotional turmoil began to become noticeable by her facial expressions, Ren felt a huge wave of nausea. " Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom." As she abruptly stood up, she quickly placed Parker in Wendell's lap, and sprinted to the ladies room. Thinking it was an appropriate time for their plan, Cam, Angela, and Daisy exchanged eye contact with everyone else, and stood up as well, on their way to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Ren quickly made sure the bathroom was empty. She then stumbled into a stall, and locked it. Barely reaching the toilet before she started to throw up. But with almost no food in her stomach, all that was coming out was water; she was just throwing up air now. Her stomach contracting painfully, as tears started to stream down her face. Due to the loud noise of the flush, and her gasping for air, Ren did not notice that three women had entered the bathroom stall. Ren closed her eyes, and sat against the cold bathroom wall, clutching her stomach. As she opened her eyes, two pairs of very concerned eyes, and one pair of very angry eyes met her.

" Are you freaking kidding me?! Really Bren! We all just thought you were just not eating, but throwing up! Are you serious! This has got to stop! You're bulimic now too? Don't you get it? If Booth finds out, he's going to take Parker away, and Katie will go back to the group home!" As Angela fumed, Ren sighed and dry heaved again as Angela finished her rant.

Ever the observer and medical official, Cam heaved a heavy sigh. " Angela, she's not trying to throw up." As Angela quickly silenced with a confused look, Daisy spoke. " She's not bulimic. She's sick. From the lack of food her body is reacting badly to such high calorie and rich food. She's getting sick from the food."

As Ren wiped her mouth, she looked into the eyes of her friends, who were not sitting down with her. " I'm trying. I swear I am. But, I can't do it by myself. And Booth is out of the option; I didn't want to tell my family. So I've been trying to do this myself, but Katie is coming soon, and I just got Parker. I have no time!" she sobbed.

While speaking, Cam had taken out some pill bottles from her bag. " Last week, during the public blood drive at the Jeffersonian, I took the blood you donated. I sent it to get checked. I'm sorry, but I did this with your health in mind. These five pills will give you the required nutrients that you need to live." She stated, as she took out five bottles of pills. " I contacted your physician, and I told her that I will be maintaining your rehabilitation. She met with me, and we talked everything over. I know it's going to be hard, but everyday I want you to eat at least five times a day. They can just be small snacks if that is better for you. But you need to gain at least 20-30 pounds, most of which should be fat, and then later on build up some muscle if that is what you wish."

" Ren. Please. You need to get better. That's why, from now on, Wendell and I will be going out and doing fieldwork with Agent Booth. You need decrease your stress levels, and take frequent breaks from your lack of energy." Daisy spoke.

As Ren just closed her eyes and nodded slowly, Angela scooted next to her friend. " Remember when we first became friends? It was right after that ass Daniel broke my heart. You promised me that we would always be friends. That you would kiss the ass of everyone else who would break your heart. Now I can't kill Booth, but I can try. But to do that, you can't look like this when I try to murder him. You need to be strong, and beautiful, so he knows what he lost." Angela explained with a small smile.

" I guess so. I can't look like this when you try to kill the man that I love." Ren replied.

" So you do love him? I mean I knew, but I never thought, that-"

" I've loved him since our first case together." Ren replied simply. " And that will never change. But if I really loved him, I would let him go. And that's what I'm doing. I love him enough to let him go. To be happy with another woman, that's not me."

As the four women stood up, Ren walked to the sink. You splashed her face, and fixed her hair. As Cam passed her a stick of mint gum, she gratefully took it and started to chew. " If he wants to be with Hannah, then he can. But he can never take my children away from me. So I'm going to get better, but not for him, it's for them."

" Ren, if he ever came back to you, do you think that you could ever trust him again?" Daisy asked.

Ren turned around, and looked back at all three women. As she opened her mouth to speak, the door burst open. Sweets and Hodgins ran into the women's bathroom, with Parker in Hodgins' arms, crying and thrashing violently, calling for his mom. As the women stared at them, Sweets turned around and locked the bathroom door behind them.

" Booth is out there with Hannah. I guess he heard about Ren and Parker being at the courthouse from the press. Once he heard about you guys, he started to poke around, and found out that you were at the mall from the press. He approached us at the table, and started to yell us, he tried to take Parker. But Wendell tackled him to the ground while Sweets and I took Parker and ran in here. The manager gave us the key on the way to the bathroom so we could lock the door." Hodgins explained frantically.

Then they heard three knocks on the door, after a few seconds, a voice emerged. " It's me, Wendell."

As Hodgins opened the door, Wendell stumbled into the bathroom, a little bruised, but otherwise uninjured. Once he walked into the bathroom, Ren approached him and hugged him. As she placed a kiss on his cheek, she thanked him and hugged him once again. The others just stared at Ren, and were wondering what had happened to Booth.

" Booth is still out there, your security guards have detained him, and are waiting for your orders on whether or not to hand him over to the police, Ren." Wendell stated with a small smile. " And I can happily say that I got a good hit at him in your name." As Ren laughed at this, she led the group of people out of the bathroom. With Parker clinging to her, they walked out of the restaurant to meet Booth outside. Outside the restaurant, Booth, the restaurant manager, and her security guards were waiting for her.

" THAT'S MY SON! GIVE ME MY SON! BONES! BONES! GIVE ME MY SON! I DESERVE HIM!" Booth screamed.

As Parker started to cry from Booth's shouts, Ren tried to comfort her son. " I'M HIS FATHER! GIVE HIM TO ME! PARKER, PARKER. DON'T CRY. IT'S OKAY. DADDY'S HERE!"

"No. Yous not my famwy. Mama's my famwy now. Boof an Beca not my famwy now." Parker stated through his sobbing.

And with that, Booth stopped struggling. " Seeley. Let's just forget about him. We can have more kids. It's not worth it Seeley." Hannah sneered. Once Hannah spoke her presence, Cam walked up to her, and struck her across the face. Before Booth could go to her, Ren spoke.

"Stop. I don't need this now, at all times, and neither does Parker. Parker is my son Agent Booth. You can't do anything about that now. If you want to see him, then I suggest you start to act accordingly, and then call me again. If you want to fight me on this, then I suggest you find yourself a damn good lawyer. Because I have the best legal team on the east coast behind me." Ren stated. " Until then, stay away from me, and from my children. And by the way, I'm not Bones. My name- my name is Dr. Temperance Brennan. But you can call me Ren." As she looked in his eyes again, she could see a glimmer of guilt and regret in Booth's eyes. Good. At least he still cared, that was a good sign.

" I won't press charges. Just escort him out of the mall please." She told her security guards. As they walked away, Wendell approached her.

" You want to have some fun Ren?" he asked, with one eyebrow raised and a smile on his face.

As she nodded her assent with a dazzling smile, Wendell slipped his arm around her waist, and pulled her into his body. He then kissed her on the cheek. As Ren blushed and started to laugh along with everybody else. But behind them, Booth was fuming.

**One month ago.**

" Hi Katie! Do you remember me?"

Ren had a warm smile on her face as she sat down on the floor across from Katie.

" I don't know why you're trying Dr. Brennan. We already told you, Katie has not responded to anyone or anything ever since Agent Booth and CPS brought her here yesterday. Usually, the younger ones acclimate better, we weren't expecting this sort of behavior from her, and we can't foster her out if she will not speak" The administrator explained in an exasperated tone.

Ignoring the woman with a roll of her eyes. Ren continued.

" I'm so sorry baby. I'm so sorry that your mom and dad died, and that they took you here. I'm sorry Katie, but I promise that no one will hurt you anymore."

Katie slowly lifter her head, and stared into Ren eyes.

" I fot you was gonna be's my mommy. An then dat scawy man took me away."

" I know baby. But I will never let anyone take you away. The scary man will never hurt any of us again. I want to take you home with me Katie. I have a little boy too; his name is Parker, about the same age as you. If it's okay, I was going to bring him with me here tomorrow to visit you. Is that okay?"

With a nod, Katie crawled over to Ren's lap.

" Mama?"

" Yes, baby?"

" You's still love me even dough Pawka's yours real baby?"

" Oh baby. I will love you both equally, and I know Parker was with me first, I'm adopting him too. I was going to adopt you too together, so you can have a brother, and him a sister."

"Okay. I's like that."

* * *

**Two Days Ago.**

"Mama! Pawka!"

" Katie!"

As the two three year old, excuse me, three and three quarters, ran to each other, Ren chuckled

" What? No one loves me anymore?" She questioned playfully.

The two children shared a look, share some unspoken connection, and ran to their mother and collided into her legs. Sometimes, the relationship between her children truly amazed her. The two children had no blood relation, were closer than siblings of blood. They always knew what the other was thinking, and often finished each other's sentence. They were so alike that is took Ren's breath away, so alike in personality, but also in physical appearance. But, they also were both very easily frightened, had abandonment issues, and were both very clingy Ren. Sometimes it was hard to deal with both of them, but never a hassle. Every time the cried, all she wanted to do was hug them and dry their tears. Every time either one had a panic attack or sometimes at the same time, she would have to tie both of them to her chest with a child sling, just to calm them down. But she loved them both, more than anything in the world. More than-… More than she loved Booth. And so far, he had hurt and scarred both of her children, and no matter how much she loved Booth she would never ensure her own happiness at the price of her children's. Booth, her Booth, wasn't there anymore, just the shell of him. He had changed, he was not Booth anymore. He was Seeley, Hannah's boyfriend. And she wasn't his Bones anymore, she was Ren. Booth and Bones had fallen in love with each other. But now they were Seeley and Temperance. Agent Booth and Ren.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by two pokes to her legs.

" Mama? When-" Parker started

" Is I coming home?" Katie finished.

" You're coming home in two days Katie. But Parker and I can't see you tomorrow, because you have to get ready to come home, and so do Parker and I. But we will see you the day you come home to us. Okay?

"Okay" "Okay" two small, and slightly sad voices answered.

After a couple of hours of talking and rocking the two to sleep at around nine thirty, Ren cradled Parker, kissed Katie good-night, and drove home.

* * *

**Present Day.**

They promptly woke up at 8'oclock. After breakfast, Ren and Parker tidied up the house a little bit, and they called each member of the Squint Squad to thank them again for helping decorate and furnish Parker and Katie's room. By the time it was almost time for lunch, Ren and Parker heard a doorbell. Ren froze in her movements while Parker started to jump up and down and giggle with joy. As she ran to the door, she quickly opened it, to be greeted by the social worker and Katie. As Parker and Katie embraced, they then tackled into their mother, who gave them both a kiss on their heads. While they said goodbye to the social worker, Ren sat down in the large armchair with her small children on her lap. When she presented the dog tags to Katie, and showed her Parker and hers as well, Katie and Parker yelped with joy. Then, Parker and Katie shared a look, and then looked up at her. With a solemn look on their faces, the two started to speak.

"Mama? Awe you sick?" Katie started

" Why's Mama eat lots an lots of medifin evwy day? Parker continued

Ren thought to herself. Should she lie, to try and shelter her children from her emotional turmoil? Or should she tell them the truth? Being a woman who had been hurt by lies before, she decided to tell her children the truth.

" Oh sweetie. My little prince and princess. Mama loves you two. You know that right?" The two children silently nodded. " Mama… Mama is sick. But medicine or going to the hospital is not going tot make me better."

"Then what can?" Katie asked

"Sweetie, Mama's not sick, like when you get a cough or a fever. I… I was hurt by someone, by friend. I loved him very much, but then he told me he didn't love me, that he loved someone else. I was so sad, that I stopped eating and taking care of myself. But because of that, I'm very sick, and I'm not as strong as I used to be, and I don't eat a lot. But I've been sick for a while, and now that I'm trying to get better, it's really hard. Those pills are not making me better, I have to do that, but they're helping a little."

" But you's getting bettah?" Parker asked.

" Yeah baby, I'm getting a little better, I'm trying to eat more, and rest a little more. That's why all your aunts and uncles at the Jeffersonian are trying to help me and take care of me."

" Mama? Awe yous gonna die?" Katie asked in a sorrow voice.

" No. Baby, I promise. I will never leave you two alone, I will always be here for you. I love you two, way too much to leave you guys." Though the two children did not understand everything, they did know that their mom was sick, but getting better. That was all that mattered; as long as the three were together, they were a family. And that was all that mattered to them.

" All right, let's get cleaned up, and then eat some lunch." Katie raised her arms, in a motion to be held, being still slightly nervous at her new environment. As Parker repeated the motion, Ren bent down and straddled them both on either side of her hips. With a small groan, she realized that she better get strong soon; having two active three year olds by herself was not going to be easy. As the kids took off their clothes, Parker led his sister to the spacious shower, and they helped each other sit up on the shower bench. As Ren entered the shower, she quickly turned the temperature of the water to warm. As the two kids entertained themselves for about 5-10 minutes, Ren quickly washed herself, and then switched over her attention to the children. She soaped up Katie's hair first. It was long, just like hers. Katie's hair reached down to her waist, just like Ren's, a pretty brown color with waves. As she rinsed off the soap, she was met with Katie's piercing blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a dazzling smile. Katie was a carbon copy of Ren, it was uncanny. As she switched over the Parker, she was also greeted with a small, the same color brown locks, chiseled cheekbones, but with big brown eyes. Though Parker had brown eyes, he still resembled Ren a lot. For some weird reason, a mother and two children with no genetic relations, looked extremely alike. Once they were all done with their showers, Ren toweled her children and herself dry. They all put on their clothes, and Ren proceeded to blow dry Katie's hair, as Parker sat and watched. On her knees, Ren turned on the hair dryer, and started the dry Katie's hair, and then dried her own.

"Okay baby, how do you want to do your hair?" When Katie shrugged her small shoulders, Ren smiled to herself.

About ten minutes later, both Katie and Ren had their long waist length hair in Dutch braids.

"Oh dear… I knew I forgot to buy some things yesterday. We forgot to buy clothes and groceries. All right, shall we go to the market guys?"

When both nodded, Katie a little more hesitantly than her brother, they three descended from their penthouse apartment complex, down to the car. Surely, a trip to the mall and the market wouldn't be that bad, would it? She got into her Mercedes ( a gift from her publicist- a.k.a Paige), and strapped both kids into their car seats. Once they entered the indoor parking lot of the mall, the three walked over to Jack and Jill. With two kids, Ren wondered if she should use of the rent-a-stroller the mall offered, but decided not to. Once they entered the child boutique, the manager became very excited about having a celebrity in her store. A couple of outfits for both children, and a couple hundred dollars later, the three started to walk out of the store.

" No! Ren!" Paige screamed, while running into the store, out of breath. " The media is everywhere, you are going to be surrounded. Some random shopper took a picture of you guys in here and posted it on the Internet."

With a groan, Ren handed Paige her shopping bags and handbag.

" Katie, Parker, this is Auntie Paige. She is one of my older sisters. I'll explain more later, but right now, we have to hurry and go to the car. There's going to be lots of people following us and yelling, but I want you two to stay calm and try not to get scared. I will carry both of you, so just close your eyes, and lay your heads on my chest. I'll be holding you two the entire way, so just listen to my voice, and everything will be okay." She assured her children, as they started to panic over the thought of being bombarded by strangers. Ren bent down to pick both children up. As they straddled either side of her, they both placed their heads on Ren's chest, and hugged her tightly. Paige then placed a pair of sunglasses on Ren, and placed a scarf over he children's eyes. As they started to panic, Ren cooed soft words of comfort to them, and they calmed. She quickly walked out of the store, but was quickly getting tired. Not at her full strength, while carrying two toddlers (small as they were, they were still not extremely light), she barely made it to the car before her arms gave out. Once she strapped the children into their car seats, she leaned against the car, as Paige watched in fright. Ren was slinking lower, and lower to the ground, with quick and shallow breaths.

" Ren! Ren! Are you okay? Ren?"

When she was met by no reply, Paige kneeled down, and started to panic.

" Oh my god! Ren! Sweetie, wake up! Ren! REN! WAKE UP!" Paige quickly got out a water bottle, and started to sprinkle some water on Ren's face. After a couple of minutes, Ren finally came too. Paige was in front of her, with a worried face. She could hear her children screaming and crying from her within the car, distressed over the fact that they could not hear or see her. All they knew was that their Aunt Paige was screaming their mother's name with a panicked tone.

" Ren, can you stand up? No, don't move. I'll call 911."

" No! NO! Paige, no hospital" she whispered in between gasps of air.

" Ren! No! You have-"

" Please! Everyone will know. I can't, I can't-"

" Don't worry, I won't let anyone know you're in there."

" Everyone will find out eventually. I don't want my kids to see me like this. I'm going to be all over the news. I don't… I don't want Booth to see me all over the morning news like this. I can't… I don't. No hospital, Paige." As she started to regain more consciousness, Paige gave a reluctant nod, and helped Ren into the passenger seat.

About five minutes later, Paige was driving the car, en route to Ren's apartment.

" Paige. Paige. I'm okay. But I need… I need to go to the groceries, we are out of groceries. I promised the kids we would go... to the market."

" Are you kidding? You almost passed out, and you want me to go to the grocery market?" I swear to God, you have lost all your body fat as well as your brain cells!"

" Look. Isn't everyone screaming at me to start eating more food? To do that, I need food in my home. Paige, just drop us off at the market, and call Eric to pick us up in about 45 minutes to an hour."

With a heavy sigh, Paige nodded, and changed her course to the grocery market nearest to Ren's home.

" Are you two okay back there?" When there was no reply, Ren sighed and turned around. Her kids were quietly sitting in their car seats with tears streaming down their faces.

"Paige, Stop the car, NOW!"

Once the car jerked to a stop, Ren hobbled out of the car, and went to sit in the back. She nimbly climbed over Parker and his car seat, and strapped herself in the middle seat. She raised both of her hands, and wiped the tears away from her children's cheeks.

" Oh sweetie. Baby. Listen to me, listen to Mama. I'm okay you guys, Mama is just fine. Okay? No need to cry sweethearts, no need to cry. I'm okay."

As Paige pulled the car up into to grocery lot, Ren unbuckled both of her children, and placed them in her lap. As she embraced them both, she started to rock them back and forth and whispered her love to them. Once they were calmed, Paige got out of the car, holding Ren's bag. Ren stepped out of the car, and first held Katie against her hip, then Parker on her opposite side. Once they grabbed the car, Ren placed a worn blanket on top, and wiped down the handle bar. With Paige's help, she placed them into the cart seat, and set off to shop. After Paige waved goodbye, the headed inside. As she was perusing through the vegetable section, she could tell her kids were a little nervous.

" Alright. Which ones do you think we should buy?" Motioning to the assortment of vegetables. The children looked at each other, and screamed

" Corn, Potatoes!" at the same time.

As she chuckled, Ren picked up a potato, only to have the kids voice that that was not the potato they wanted. As this continued for the next two potatoes, Ren exaggerated a heavy sigh as the children gigged at her. Then, she picked both children up and set them down, to pick their own potatoes and corn. They huddled next to each other, frightened over the prospect of being in the grocery market, walking around. With an encouraging smile, the two toddlers held hands, and slowly walked over to the potatoes. Ren held out her hand, and lifted Parker up, to pick two potatoes, and then did the same with Katie. Once they were satisfied, they moved on to corn. Each child returned to their mother, with an ear of corn clasped in their hands and triumphant smiles. Once the two handed their mother the ears of corn, an old woman approached Ren.

" Excuse me. Are you Dr. Temperance Brennan, the writer?"

"Oh, Yes, I am. Can I help you?

" Oh no! No autograph or anything, I just wanted to tell you that I love your books. And you're two are so adorable. Are they twins?"

" YES! UH-HUH! We's twins." Parker and Katie exclaimed.

The elderly lady chuckled, and waved goodbye to the children and Ren. Ren the bent down and blew a raspberry on each child's cheek. As they started to giggle uncontrollably, many of the other shoppers looked to the adorable spectacle smiling. As she continued her shopping, she was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.

" Excuse me. Do you need any help?"

Turning to face the stranger, Ren gasped in surprise and gave him a brief hug.

" Hey Ren. I see you got Katie?" Wendell observed. ( I don't know about you guys. But I love Wendell.)

" Wendell! Hi. Yes, the three of us are just grocery shopping for some dinner. What are you doing here?"

" Well, I was listening to the radio on my way home from Hodgins' house; something about conspiracy in car manufacturers. I don't really know, I barely escaped."

" How did you know I was here though?"

" On the radio, one of the broadcasters was saying how you were spotted at the mall, and I got a little worried. Then I called by that woman.. Paige I think? I don't know how she got my number, but she told me to go bring my manpower to some good use at the grocery store. I was really confused, but then I saw you here."

" Oh. I'm sorry, my older sister can be a little meddlesome sometimes."

"No problem. I have a free day today, so I am at your assistance." With a little cheeky smile, Wendell bent down to the two toddlers who had wrapped themselves into their mother's legs. They had made themselves a little shield with her legs, presently hiding behind them.

" Hey kids. You want some candy?" Wendell asked softly, presenting a bag of fruit gummies from his jacket pocket.

With an encouraging nod from their mother, Parker came out first. He took a gummy, and then walked back to his mother's legs, and handed Katie the candy. He then took her hand as Ren coaxed out the nervous child. Once she took another candy, Wendell looked at her and smiled. Katie then looked up and gave a tentative smile as well. After distributing the candy to the two now very hyper children, Ren rolled her eyes at Wendell as he joined their shopping endeavor. In the dry foods aisle, while Ren was strolling about picking some chips and snacks for the kids, Wendell had managed to pick up both children, and carried them under his arms lie tote packages. Running around, Wendell was laughing while other shoppers were looking at the three, laughing along.

" Alright you three, let's continue shopping. We can all play again later."

While the two children pouted, but conceded to their mother's wishes, Ren lightly smacked Wendell while he laughed good-naturedly.

" After you have babies, the husband becomes another child. Don't worry dear, it happened to me too." A passerby mentioned.

With a confused look, Ren turned her head towards Wendell and her children. At that moment, Wendell looked up and smiled at Ren. She felt warmth spread across her body, and a smile made a way to her face as well. Maybe more could come, but for now, Wendell was just a good friend.

" All right you guys, I think we got all we need; let's go!"

Three heads snapped up in response to her voice. The two toddlers pitter-pattered to their mother's side, and Wendell walked over to the shopping cart. He took over steering the cart, while the two children demanded attention from their mother. With a strained smile, Ren bent down and picked up both children. A groan crept its way out of her mouth and Wendell shot a concerned look in her direction. She motioned that she was okay and continued walking to the register. She was still quite weak; but the day she put herself before her children, would be the day that unicorns emerge from rainbows.

After paying for her groceries, Wendell helped Ren to her car. After strapping the two kids in their car seats, she closed the door and thanked Wendell. With a tired look on her face, Ren hugged Wendell as thanks.

" Ren… you look… Are you okay?"

" I'm fine Wendell, just a little tired. Carrying both of them at the same time is a little tiring. I think I just have low blood sugar or something." She replied, waving off his concern.

With a furrowed brow, Wendell dug into his pocket, and fished out a packet of Sour Path Kids. He opened it, and took a yellow sour patch out. Looking into her eyes, he took a step towards her, and slowly lifted the candy. He placed it on her lips, a silent act of kindness and gentle care.

Ren opened her mouth, and savored the sweet and sour taste of the sweet candy. Wendell then gave her another hug, and handed the bag of candy to Ren and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Once he departed, Ren got into the car and drove home with a dazed look. _Okay, maybe not just friends. _Boy likes Girl. Girl has two kids. Boy likes the two kids. Two kids like Boy. Girl likes Boy? _Who knows?!_

* * *

**Later that night**

" Parker! Katie! Time for a quick bath and bed!"

After a dinner of some of the food that Sid provided for her and the kids, both of the children had managed to get quite dirty. With a lot of heartfelt words and some guilt trips, the kids had managed to make sure that their mother ate some food as well. As well as a call from Cam, telling Ren to inform her of all the foods she had eaten and etc. She downed a couple of vitamins and the nutrition pills that Cam gave her, and then proceeded to get the bath for her babies ready. Once the bathtub was filled with warm water and bath bubbles, both children ran into the bathroom, breathing a little heavily from gallivanting around the house. She quickly helped both children undress and carried them into the tub. In there, a mesh bag of some rubber bath toys were provided, and Ren joined in the fun a little as well. After a while, she drained the tub, and washed all the remaining bubbles off of the kids.

" Come on Katie." With a fluffy towel, Ren picked up Katie, and dried her quickly and placed a loud smooch on her forehead, and then repeated the action with Parker. Once all three of them were dressed in their pajamas, and ready for bed, they continued to her bedroom. Though the children's' room were furnished with beds, the children had remained adamant in their decision to not sleep alone. Parker's trauma from his parents, and Katie's trauma from the group home had become quite apparent in their nighttime behavior. Once the sun went down, both children had become apprehensive and sad as the night progressed. As she lay in bed, she thought how this was going to work. Usually, Parker slept on her stomach, but how would she do this, with both children?

The children soon interrupted her thoughts as they climbed over to her. Ren placed large pillows to barricade one end of the bed so they wouldn't fall off, and placed herself as a wall to the other side.

" Yous can sweep next to Mama furst Katie. Is okay, I be big boy."

With a nod and a smile, Katie looked up at her mother with a hopeful smile.

"C'mere baby."

Ren placed Katie on top of her belly, and looked down at her beautiful daughter as she nuzzled her way into her mother's chest. Parker then scooted next to his mother and snuggled into the contour of her body and armpit from her extended arm. With a content sigh, mother and two children slept through the night with smiles on their faces.

_Maybe everything will be okay. I can get through this alone. I can be that big star that all my fans want, I can get myself healthy and strong again, I can take care of my children by myself._

That might be true, but Ren could not know the panic that would soon unfold in the days to come.

* * *

**Two days later**

The apartment was almost entirely silent. But if one listened carefully, there were some muffled sounds. The soft breaths of two sleeping babies, and one disturbing sound. The sound of a toilet being flushed, quiet sobs racking the pale and skinny figure of a stubborn woman. The sound of said woman, retching into the toilet. Her body having given up all the food in her system, was only throwing up water and air, it seemed. By now, her body was just convulsing.

Two sets of footstep could be heard now, outside the door.

"Mama? MAMA!" Katie and Parker screamed. They didn't know what was happening. But all they could hear was their Mama groaning in agony and coughing, and occasionally making retching noises.

" Baby…. Sweetheart… Mama's okay…. Mama's just not feeling well. Go back to sleep babies." Ren gasped out loud. Her body was burning up, all she could think about was to go back to her children. But there was no strength left in her body to pick herself up and open the door.

The chime of the doorbell distracted the children.

"Hey, anyone home?" The sound of Wendell's voice rang through the apartment.

The last thought Ren had before succumbing to the darkness was _Wendell._

Before the children could move, they heard a loud thump against the door.

" Mama? MAMA! MAMA!" The children screamed, when there was no reply they started to cry. As Wendell heard the screams of the children, he grew panicked. He quickly called the rest of the Jeffersonian gang, not knowing what to do. Cam instructed him, to first try and enter the apartment to see what was going on, and the rest of the gang would converge there. Wendell then called out to the children from behind the door. Through their tears and pained gasps, the two three-years old were able to work together and drag a chair near the door. Then Parker helped Katie climb onto the chair, so she could unlock the knob. After they cleared the chair, and moved back. Wendell then ran into the apartment, headed for the bathroom. As he reached the door to Ren's private bathroom, he could hear the rest of the Jeffersonian gang arrive in the apartment. As they made their quick first introductions to Katie, Parker held onto his sister as they both started to bawl and scream for their mother.

Wendell yelled Ren's name through the door. When there was no answer, he had to act. The life of the woman he cared for, who he respected and admired, the life that he was growing to **love,** was on the line. He took several steps back, then at a sprint, rammed into the door. As the door flew open, he saw the unconscious body of Ren draped across the floor next to the toilet.

* * *

**Several Hours Later**

"What does that mean?" Wendell asked

" It basically means that her body was exhausted. She is finally getting some rest, but other than her malnutrition there is no physical ailment. I thought I told you guys to watch her, I thought you guys talked to her?" The doctor replied.

"Georgia we tried, but you know how Ren is." Paige replied to the doctor, with Heather nodding her assent.

" I know you guys. But I can't believe she's gotten this bad. We always joked how she was the most fragile because she's the baby sister, but Jesus what did Booth do to her?" Georgia mused.

"He broke her. And then he kicked her while she was still down," Wendell explained in a grim voice. " And I will never forgive him for hurting her like that, not when she never did anything to deserve this." Then Wendell looked out the hospital room, outside was the entire Jeffersonian family waiting to hear on Ren's prognosis. In the room wit him, were Katie and Parker, and Ren's sisters, the doctor-Georgia, the Judge-Heather, and the publicist-Paige.

"No offense or anything, but is Ren related to everyone that works with her?" Wendell inquired.

The sisters shared a look until Georgia answered. "As you know, Ren was abandoned as a child. She lied on some facts. She was abandoned at thirteen, and suffered in that god-awful place for two years. That's when Papa found her. Mama and Papa adopted all of us, they took us in, took care of us, and loved us. Little Renny was the last baby they took in. **(Let's assume that Ren never reconnected with her biological family.) **She's always been different, but in a good way. She was the smartest, the most compassionate, loving, and beautiful of us all. We were never jealous of that though, she was our perfect baby sister. But she never got over what happened to her in the system. We don't even know what happened, only Papa does. All we do know, is that once she joined the family Mama and Papa told us that she was to be loved and cherished, and that's how it has always been. She grew to be so strong, Ren was strong. When she started her studies she was Temperance, when she became famous, smart beyond compare, she became Temperance. But at home, she was always Ren. And that's how we always kept it, because she never wanted to be Temperance in our home. Temperance was hurt in the Foster System, Temperance was bullied by her peers, Temperance was hurt by Agent Booth. But it's been getting harder for her to differentiate between Ren and Temperance, and the walls are breaking. That's why she's breaking down, she doesn't know how to cope."

"Well that doesn't matter. Temperance or Ren, whoever she is, I will still care for her." Wendell replied adamantly.

"We get that, Wendell we do. But you have to understand, she's not ready for a relationship, and if you can't understand that, you're no better than Booth." Paige replied.

"You have to understand that you will always be playing for second best, her kids are her number one priority, and you will have to accept the fact that she will never prioritize you higher than her kids. And even after her kids, we come before you. Family is everything to her. Whether that's her kids, or her sisters and parents. And you might say that you understand, but you and Ren will never be **that** couple. The one that has unconditional love for each other, Ren has that reserved for her kids." Heather explained. "I know it seems harsh but that's just the way it is."

"It's true Wendell. And I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted." A small voice said.

"YOU'RE AWAKE" Georgia shrieked. As she quickly checked Ren's vitals, Wendell looked into Ren's eyes and gave a small nod.

"I understand. I'm sorry then Ren, I don't think I would be able to live with that. Maybe for a while, but I need to have that feeling that someone loves me more than the world itself. Your are a wonderful mother and woman, but I don't know if we could be together in that kind of way. I still care for you more than anyone else I know, but I don't think we can have that kind of connection. I love you, Ren."

"But not IN love. I know Wendell, I share that feeling as well." Ren replied.

"Well that's great and all. But now who's supposed to protect you from Booth if not your now-not boyfriend!" Paige exclaimed

"I still will. I love Ren, more than my life." Said Wendell

"As cute as this is, truly. Really wonderful. There are two small three and three quarter year olds out there. God help me if I just say that they're three." Heather stated with a chuckle.

At that moment, the door to Ren's room opened, and the two children came scrambling in followed by the rest of the Jeffersonian troupe.

"MAMA!" the two toddlers screamed while trying to scramble up onto the bed. To lessen the strain on their mother, Paige and Heather lifted them up onto the bed, warning them to be careful. With that in mind, they both slowly crawled up near her chest. As Ren's bed was adjusted to be in a reclining position, she placed her children in her lap as they lay back into her chest. Parker took her free hand and placed her thumb into his mouth as he sucked her thumb and closed his eyes. Katie took her mother's other hand and placed it on her head for her mother to stroke her hair. Once the children were situated, and at this point asleep, Ren looked up at Georgia.

"Okay. Let it out." Ren calmly stated.

"Let what out?" Georgia asked in a steely voice. As her voice dropped to an aggravated whisper, she continued. "Let out the fact that you could have died? That you could have left these two children alone? Where they could get separated from each other? Or the fact that you gave all of us a heart attack, Ren! Me, Paige, Heather, Mama, Papa, and all your friends! You were dead Ren! You were dead, for fifteen seconds. WE COULDN'T REVIVE YOU FOR FIFTEEN FREAKING SECONDS REN! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE FOR REAL THIS TIME! I thought you would be more careful this time! God Ren! I thought we were over this. You've tried to kill yourself before, but this! I get it Ren, you were trying. You were getting better. But it was too late already! DAMN IT REN!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to kill myself Georgia, not this time! You have to understand that, I would never try to leave, to leave my children."

" You have to try harder this time around. We convinced Mama and Papa to not come down and see you this time. But if it happens again Ren, we're letting them come down and knock some sense into you. You're too damn skinny Ren. Your twenty pounds underweight. You look like you've walked out of a concentration camp. We're sending you home with these pills. They should give you the necessary vitamins, and will help counteract the nausea when you eat." Ren nodded and smiled up at her oldest sister. " We love you baby girl. Paige, Heather, and I, we're your big sisters, it's our job to sometimes be mean to you. But don't be scared to ask for help baby sis. Family Forever."

"Sorry to interrupt this. I know. I love you, you love me, we're a big happy family whatever. But seriously, Ren. Get better. If not, my job as your publicist will get ten times harder, and I would like to live a long life." Paige interrupted with a laugh.

" Okay. I really think this is a good time as any where you start to explain Ren. What is going on? Who is your real family? I don't understand sweetie," Angela asked.

After a long silence, Ren took a big breath and exhaled. She looked around the room. There were so many people here, they were probably over capacity. But the people in this room were the people who truly cared about her, they loved her and she them. It was time to come clean.

" Well you guys know about the Brennan's and such abandoning me and me being in foster care. That was all true. The foster care was a terrible place for me. And despite the terrible families that I was taken into, I still tried to excel in all my studies. Well one of my family's was especially terrible, and they locked me in a car trunk for two days. They left me there, and went on a week long vacation. Thank God the car was outside, because after they left I started to pound on the trunk. Someone eventually found me after the second day or so of pounding. It was Papa. He had heard about my reputation and school and my academic excellence and how I was a foster child. He and his wife were well known philanthropists, and very successful businessmen. He had tracked down where I was, to try and become my new foster father, so he could nurture my studies the way no one else could. He found me pounding the trunk from the inside, and called the police and got me out. Long story short, he took me home to his wife and three other daughters, all adopted but loved like if they were his own children. His name is Tom Brennan, and his wife is Margaret Brennan. We actually have no relation to each other. He took me in and loved me like his own. In his house, I became Ren. But once I started to get acknowledged for my academic excellence, I became frightened and nervous, and reverted back to my Temperance state. And from then on, that's how I kept it. But now with all of you, I'm tired of being two different people. I want to be one person, I want to be Temperance and Ren. But more than that, I want to be someone that my children feel safe with and love."

Before anyone could say anything, Hodgins stated, " WAIT! Brennan? Tom and Margaret Brennan? Paige, Heather, Georgia, and Ren Brennan? As in the richest people in the world Brennan?"

"WHAT!" Cam replied

" Well I wouldn't say richest. But we are far more wealthy than you and the Cantavelier group Hodgins" Heather smirked.

" Mama and Papa come from wealthy families, and have used their wealth to expand corporations and various different technology and health organizations. With that and everything else, we are quite a wealthy family. However, all of Brennan kids have very nice professions, and are in no way "spoiled brats" as Papa likes to say" Georgia explained.

" Actually, it's funny. People used to call us the 'Brennan Brat Pack' because all four of us always wanted to go out and get a job, and we were never the types of girls who went shopping and bought inane amounts of clothes and used our money to frivolously." Paige added.

As the group of people started to digest this new information, they all stared incredulously at Ren. She smiled at them, and looked down at her children, and grinned. She vowed to herself to get better. She was going to become healthy again so she could be able to care for her children and be the best mother possible. And she was going to be beautiful once more, so strong and confident that she would never be hurt by Booth again. She had her kids, and that was going to be more than enough for her… She hoped.


End file.
